New times, new thinking

an article by Nick Pearce published in New Statesman and republished by IPPR (23 March 2012)

At the beginning of the 20th century, Britain spent just 12 per cent of its national output on public services and welfare support. By the onset of the financial crisis in 2008, it spent 40 per cent. In common with most other advanced economies, Britain underwent a huge expansion of public spending during the 20th century. It was a societal transformation to which labour movements and their political parties were midwives, defining the core of their political identities.
Read on

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10 stories and links I think are educative, informative, entertaining, or weird

Icebound, long-abandoned Communist flying saucer in the cliffs of Bulgaria via Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow
Timothy sez, “This is a link to some photos I have took of Buzludzha (pronounced Buz’ol’ja) a very remote building in the Balkan Mountains. It is Bulgaria’s largest monument to Communism which was left to ruin after the revolution in 1989. An incredible 70 metre tall, 1970s “flying saucer” perched precariously in the snow on a ridge at 1500m. Full of beautiful communist mosaic frescos and an amazing central atrium complete with giant golden hammer and sickle. It took 6,000 workers seven years to build. I managed to fly over it in a microlight in mid winter to get some interesting pictures too. Such an amazing place.”
Look, read and wonder Forget Your Past (Thanks, Timothy!)


Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Where have all the brides gone? Parents’ preference for boys might turn China into a nation of bachelors... more


Petticoat Lane, 1903 via Retronaut by Chris
“"Flat-capped men flow in a Sunday morning tide down Middlesex Street – better known by its unofficial name, Petticoat Lane – just as they have for generations.
This most Cockney of London markets caters to the second-hand clothes trade: at the time when this film was made, the market was dominated by the East End street sellers and the Jewish rag trade (almost all the names on the shop fronts are Jewish). As the camera pans across the market, we see the traders raised above the general level, barking at the crowd. The few women in the picture are stall-holders, selling patched-up trousers and restored boots, while a nearby card sharp tempts the punters.”
Bryony Dixon, BFI
Watch the film (silent, of course) here (Source: BFI Films)

Scientist Margaret Thatcher: The Iron Lady and Economic Liberalism via Big Think by Matthew C. Nisbet
Guest Post by Declan Fahy, AoE Science & Culture correspondent.
There is a scene in The Iron Lady when former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is asked by her doctor – soon after her husband, Denis, has died – how she is feeling. Thatcher, played by Meryl Streep, who won the Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal, responds: “People don’t think any more. They feel … D’you know, one of the great problems of our age is that we are governed by people who care more about feelings than thoughts and ideas.”
Read More

Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Cities used to accommodate people. Now they’re built around parking. The result in Los Angeles is collective irrational behaviour... more

Duckweed: The Next Bio Fuel Revolution? via Big Think by Daniel Honan
Shall we go hungry or go cold? That is the unfortunate question that some developing countries have had to face as food crops such as wheat and corn have been used to create bio fuels.
Read More



The Coal Mining History Resource Centre is the UK’s largest and most comprehensive website concerning the history of coal mining – including a searchable database of over 164,000 recorded accidents and deaths.
via Peter Scott’s Library Blog by Peter Scott

Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
In 1976, Ray Bradbury had an epiphany: “I don’t want to be accepted by certain intellectuals. If Norman Mailer likes me, I’ll kill myself.”... more

What a tangled web we weave by Robert Trivers (New Statesman 24 October 2011)
Just picked this up via 3Quarks Daily
From using euphemisms such as “collateral damage” to faking orgasms, we practise deception all the time. But in order to lie better to others, we must first fool ourselves.
Read the full article

Anatomy of an unsafe abortion via Boing Boing by Xeni Jardin
Dr. Jen Gunter, who is an OB/GYN and a pain medicine physician, writes a harrowing account of receiving a patient who has undergone an unsafe abortion, and is bleeding to death:

On the gurney lay a young woman the color of white marble. The red pool between her legs, ominously free of clots, offered a silent explanation.
"She arrived a few minutes ago. Not even a note." My resident was breathless with anger, adrenaline, and panic.

And here's a follow-up post worth reading, by Dr. Gunter.
(thanks, @Scanman)

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10 non-work-related items that I found fun or interesting

Celebrating the wartime pleasure of getting loaded and cleaning your guns via Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow

This wartime ad from Life encourages you to get loaded on fine booze at home while cleaning your guns, to leave the roads and railways clear for Our Boys.
Life, October 16, 1944

Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Carrie Nation is dead, but prohibitionism lives on, despite a history of hypocrisy and failure. Self-righteousness, it seems, never goes out of style... more

Ironclads, 1859-1899 via Retronaut by Chris
“Ironclads were steam-propelled warships protected by armour plates. The rapid pace of change in the ironclad period meant that many ships were obsolete as soon as they were complete.” – Wikipedia
See all the images here – I gave up trying to decide which one to include as I’m not that much into ships.

Georgette Heyer: the queen of romance via Reading Copy Book Blog by Richard Davies
Unless you are a fan of historical romance, then there is a good chance that you will be unfamiliar with Georgette Heyer. Who is she? For a start, she’s one of AbeBooks’ top 10 best-selling authors during the 16-year history of this company.
Last time we looked she was behind William Shakespeare, C.S. Lewis, Agatha Christie and Stephen King but ahead of J.K. Rowling, Charles Dickens and James Patterson.
Read more about Georgette Heyer and her literary legacy.

Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Few questions divide the classical-music world as starkly as this: Philip Glass – mind-numbing bore or bliss-inducing genius?... more
My money is on the former – but I have not listened to everything he wrote and my all-time favourite composer, Mahler, wrote some things I don’t like. You pays your money and takes your choice!

Why Online Dating Sites Don’t Work via Big Think by Orion Jones
In an analysis of 313 studies on established relationships, psychologists found that the metrics measured by online dating sites, such as personality traits and attitudes, had virtually no effect on relationship well-being.
Read More

Sleepy or Drunk? You’re Ready to Problem Solve! via Big Think by Orion Jones
In a scientific study, college students were asked to solve a brain teaser early in the morning and late at night to measure problem solving abilities relative to alertness levels. Prior to answering the riddle, most students self-identified as night owls, implying ...
Read More

Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
The adolescent brain. Children are reaching puberty earlier and entering adulthood later. The result: Considerable weirdness... more

Out of the lethal mouths of babes via Prospero by F.C. | New York

In a crisis, we rely on our ability to communicate. But what if speech made people ill? In The Flame Alphabet, a new novel from Ben Marcus, the voices of children are fatal to adults. It is a sudden, mysterious epidemic, which taxes the bonds of families and forces parents to make impossible choices. The story is narrated by Sam, a father in a small Jewish community, who recounts the toxic effects of his teenage daughter’s speech on himself and his ailing wife Claire. Fighting time, he begins experimenting on children in order to save himself and his family. For spiritual reserve, he and Claire tune in to underground radio dispatches from a religious figure of mysterious identity.
Mr Marcus’s previous novels have pushed at the limits of the form, earning him a reputation for work that is smart, experimental and not widely read. In The Flame Alphabet he has delivered a book that is both aesthetically interesting and a pleasure to read. 

Full article
The Flame Alphabet by Ben Marcus is published by Knopf and out now.
Book trailer

Toy-sized quadrotors flying in formation via Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow
Researchers from GRASP Lab at the University of Pennsylvania developed software to allow toy-sized nano quadrotors to fly in tight, precise and eerie formation. Gmoke sez, “William Gibson dreams of a mass of these things comprising a flying skyscraper. I imagine them as surveillance and policing drones ready to stop the OWS action or Arab Spring before it can start.”
A Swarm of Nano Quadrotors (Thanks, Gmoke!)

the use of narratives to contextualize the experiences and needs of unemployed, underemployed, and displaced workers

an article by Jessica C. Russell (Department of Communication Arts and Sciences, Michigan State University) published in Journal of Employment Counseling Volume 48 Issue 2 (June 2011)

Abstract

The author examined the role of narratives used by unemployed, underemployed, and displaced workers seeking job training assistance through a government-funded One-Stop Career Center. Interviews with employees of a One-Stop Career Center provided insight on client rate of disclosure of personal narratives and how client narratives are used to facilitate the job search process.

Specifically, data from the interviews suggest that narratives give career center employees insight on job seekers’ background, barriers, and reemployment mind-set.

Furthermore, the act of listening was seen as legitimizing job seekers’ experiences. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Hazel’s comment:
Yet again we have evidence that one-to-one and/or face-to-face discussion is best in order to help people discern a way forward in careers. It’s not just about training, it’s not just about opportunities. It is about understanding that Ms A or Mr B is a person with an individual and unique personal history.
I can highly recommend that you access a copy of this if you possibly can.

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Analyzing the Next-Generation Catalog

by Andrew Nagy published in Library Technology Reports Volume 47 Number 7 (October 2011)

Libraries have begun a transformation from physical materials to electronic media, and the so-called next-generation catalog is emerging before our eyes. This issue of Library Technology Reports analyzes five different academic libraries to better understand their investments, detailing the outcome thus far and drawing conclusions about the next-generation catalog.

Topics Include:

• Defining the Next-Generation Catalog: Open Source versus Commercial Solutions
• Deploying the Next-Generation Service
• Understanding the Impact
• Case Studies (Wake Forest University , Oklahoma State University, North Carolina State University, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, and Villanova University)

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Lifelong Learning Account Guidance

Paragraph 15 of the Skills Funding Agency’s Update Issue 100 (21 March 2012) provides information for providers and others in the further education learning and skills sector as follows:

As communicated in Update 76 (28 September 2011), a Lifelong Learning Account is a free online service, available from the Next Step website, that offers greater flexibility, control and choice for skills and learning development in a single, easily accessible location.

The introduction and promotion of the Lifelong Learning Account to individuals is seen as essential for learning providers and the Next Step service (National Careers Service from April 2012).

The following guidance documents have been updated recently:
• Learning Provider Quick Guide to Lifelong Learning Accounts
• Lifelong Learning Accounts FAQs
• Next Step Adviser Quick Guide to Lifelong Learning Accounts.

All of the guidance documents are available from the Lifelong Learning Account section of the Skills Funding Agency website.

For further information or related queries, please contact your Divisional Area Relationship Team

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National Careers Service: Course Directory

Paragraph 17 of the Skills Funding Agency’s Update Issue 100 (21 March 2012) provides some basic information as follows:

As communicated in Update 98, the National Careers Service will be launched in April 2012. The new website will offer an improved course search facility, with many new features that have been introduced as a result of customer feedback.
Please remember that it is a condition of funding that you ensure that your information is up to date on the Course Directory Provider Portal. [Available only to providers to view]

To improve data quality, so that advisers and customers can find the courses that they are looking for, and to ensure that the information we give them is accurate and comprehensive, please refer to the top tips [NB: You can view these] in the portal.

[I'd be happier with something a good deal more concrete than "description … what you would be happy to include in a prospectus" etc.
Reminder to self: look out "Standards for Data Input on Central Information Database" (title is sort-of right but I know it's not actually that).]

For any related queries or assistance, please contact The Data Service’s Service Desk [email link only].

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